Ancient Legacies
by The Emerald Shapeshifter
Summary: Shadows released. Secrets unleashed. Loyalties revealed. When all the shadows are released, the new Shadow Lord may be the only one who can defeat the culprit. But will memories of the past come back to haunt her? Part Two of the Horizon Trilogy.
1. Ghostly Apparitions

**A****n****c****i****e****n****t ****L****e****g****a****c****i****e****s**

**A SRMTHFG Fanfiction**

* * *

Here's a sequel to _Orrean Chronicles_!

Something bad has happened on Amere. But, with Shruikan away, who will help the Hyperforce when a power threatens _their_ world?

The new Shadow Lord.

* * *

**Epilogue: Ghostly Apparitions**

"Guess what guys?"

Everyone turned to the screen to see the face of Silhouette, the black monkey. She grinned at them all as they approached.

"Hey, sweetheart," Sparx said, smirking. "What's up?"

"Shruikan is leaving on a 'mission' soon," she said, indicating the word with air quotes. "For something important. It's his last mission, but he didn't tell me what for. So, I'm the new appointed Shadow Lord! Or…Queen…"

"Congratulations," Gibson said, grinning.

"I like 'Queen'," Otto yelled. "It makes you sound official!"

Chiro smiled and crossed his arms. "I like Queen, too."

"So, when can we come see ya?" Sparx wondered.

"Soon," she said. "I still have to get everything set up, Shruikan has to announce the change and his leaving to everyone… Then I'll send for you when I can."

"What about Quint and Jupiter?" Antauri wondered. "What has become of them?"

"They're on their way to Shuggazoom. It's dangerous for a non-shadow to be here during this time, Shruikan said. They could lose themselves during the ritual, and what follows."

"Ah."

"And Maria?" Otto asked.

"She's with them, too."

"So…soon?" Sparx repeated. "Promise?"

Silhouette grinned gently. "I promise."

* * *

Chiro entered his room, shutting the door behind him. It would be good to see Silhouette again, he knew, because Sparx would not stop talking about her. The others needed a break, too, even if it was to a dark world like Amere.

"Well…boy…" a voice whispered. "We meet again…"

Chiro blinked and turned to a shadowed corner. Two flaring red eyes greeted him, along with a white, toothy smile.

As soon as it had appeared, it vanished.

Chiro looked around frantically, but the presence had vanished.

He automatically ran to Antauri.

* * *

"Knock, knock, anyone home?" a familiar voice called into the Command Center. Everyone turned to see Quint and Jupiter stride in. Maria followed them, smiling broadly as she ran up to Otto, embracing him in a tight hug. Quint did the same with Nova, kissing her cheek.

"Welcome back, my friends," Antauri said.

"It's good to be back," Jupiter replied, nodding. "I hope we will not have to burden you long by staying here."

"Stay as long as you want," Chiro said. "We don't mind. Antauri," he said, turning to the silver monkey, "can I talk to you?"

Antauri nodded and followed Chiro out of the main room.

"So, your sister's now a Queen," Gibson said. "You must be proud."

"We are," Quint said, nodding and smiling.

* * *

"Hopefully you were just seeing things," Antauri said after Chiro informed him of what he saw. He sounded doubtful. "We know the Skeleton Prince is still alive, but he safely locked away on Amere."

"Yeah…" Chiro muttered. "But I'm still worried. No offense to her, but with Silhouette in charge, I think something could go wrong with his containment."

"Don't say that," Chiro scolded. "She'll be a great leader for that world. Now, in case of trouble, we have the element of Shadow on our side."

Chiro nodded slowly, but wasn't reassured.

* * *

Well…yeah…sort chapter. But it gets better!

Please review! The number of reviews sucked on my last story. I made me sad. 

**And, to build up excitement (or tear it down), there's a bunch of new things in this story—things I never revealed about Silhouette, her brothers, and everyone.**


	2. Give It All

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**Chapter Two: Give It All**

The call came a week later.

Sparx turned to the monitor as it blinked. "It's her guys!" He pressed a red button, and the screen flickered on.

"Hey sis!" Quint said, waving.

"Hey, Quint!" Silhouette said, smiling. "Good, you guys got here in time. Sorry, I've had a lot on my hands. Everyone here seems restless and worried, and it's not just because Shruikan's gone."

"Is…_he_…still locked up?" Chiro questioned.

"Yeah, he's still locked up. I have to go check on them all now, so I suppose you can start on your way here. Quint and Jupiter know the way, I think… And—"

Suddenly, the screen fizzled out. Sparx blinked, stunned for a moment, and suddenly began pressing the red button frantically. "Silhouette? Silhouette!!"

Nothing.

"Hyperforce, GO!" Chiro shouted.

* * *

"What do you mean, pilot the Super Robot?" Sparx asked harshly.

"There is a specific path through space you must follow to get to Amere," Quint said gently. "My brother and I must pilot the Robot to get there."

"Why would I let you pilot my Fist Rocket?"

"Sparx, we need to get there as fast as we can," Jupiter said. "My sister may be in danger."

Sparx blinked, then looked down. "Just get us there." With that, he walked to his red seat.

Quint went up the red tube, to Sparx's Fist Rocket, and Jupiter went up the blue tube to Gibson's Fist Rocket. Everyone else went to their usual places, as Gibson sat in his blue chair.

The Super Robot shuddered, lifting off the ground and into space in a matter of seconds.

"You may want to buckle up…" Quint's voice said.

Gibson buckled up, but Sparx just sat there, arms crossed, looking annoyed. "Sparx—" Gibson began.

Suddenly, the ship flipped upside down! It began flying like this at high speed, knocking Sparx from his seat. The red monkey struggled back into his seat and buckled up, closing his eyes as the Super Robot did complex twists and turns.

* * *

Darkness. That's all he could see. Of course, it would be _all_ he could see unless he could find Silhouette.

Using his memory, Sparx felt along the wall to what he hoped was one of the command tubes, and then traced them with his finger to find the location of his. He entered it and shot down.

Seconds later, he was ejected roughly onto grass—cold, dead grass. _Yup, we're on Amere,_ he thought. He activated his head lamp, and slowly started forward. The memories of the past filled his head—they passed a weird black, wall-like thing in space, and the Super Robot spiraled out of control…and crashed.

The others were probably in the Robot, trying to turn on the power, but he had to find his girlfriend. Suddenly, he screamed. In front of his light was a Wraith—one of the creatures Velina used to take over Shuggazoom that one time.

The Wraith didn't move.

"Buzz off!" Sparx roughly yelled.

"Shadow Princess hurt," the Wraith muttered.

"Shadow Princess? Silhouette?"

"Shadow Lord left to find green dragon's punishment. But green dragon come and punish us."

"Get me to the castle!" Sparx ordered. He remembered something about shadows needing masters. "I order you." He stood up straight.

"Yes," the Wraith said, turning and floating off. "Light go."

"But I can't see without it," Sparx said, after figuring out what the creature meant.

"Follow my voice," the Wraith said quietly.

So Sparx did, listening vaguely to the ghost-like creature in front of him as it ranted on. Suddenly, it stopped.

"Light unleashed Shadow," it hissed, pointing a boney finger in the direction it was facing. "Shadow and Light mingle, to create death of the unnatural kind."

It muttered something in a language Sparx could not understand. Then, it flew off.

Sparx saw a sliver of light. Instinctively, he ran towards it. He almost jumped for joy. It was the castle!

And there was Silhouette, stumbling out of the doorway, leaning against the side. She had her eyes tightly closed, as if in pain. Sparx ran up to her and gathered her into a tight hug. She started to scream, but soon realized who it was and hugged him back.

"Sparx…" she muttered, her voice hoarse.

"What happened?" he asked. "Are you okay?"

"It's my fault…" he said. "It's all my fault.'

* * *

After making sure the others has made it to the castle, Silhouette solemnly showed them what had happened.

"I was attacked from behind," she told them, showing them a large screen. The screen was shattered and broken with a large hole in the middle. "And the communications were destroyed. Whatever did this broke into the containment vault," she let out a sigh, "and freed all the spirits captured there."

Chiro felt like his heart leapt into his throat.

Silhouette shook her head and covered her eyes. "Shruikan's gonna kill me…" she moaned.

"Hey, it's okay," Sparx reassured. "It's just one small mistake."

"Unless you count how many there were…" Silhouette countered.

"How many?"

"A thousand, maybe more. All some of the most notorious shadow beings ever."

Sparx inhaled sharply.

Everyone entered the large room where all the shadow beings had been contained. All the glass was shattered, and no spot on the floor was bare. Maria strode to the doorway and picked up a large shard of glass, holding it to her face.

"Holy…man, this place is trashed!" Chiro exclaimed. Antauri shot him a look, and he grinned sheepishly. "Sorry."

Silhouette walked solemnly up to Maria, looking over her shoulder as the white monkey gazed intently at the shard of glass she held. Suddenly, Silhouette asked, "_She_ did this?"

Sparx looked over Maria's other shoulder to see a picture in the glass. It showed Emarelda—the green dragon who had tried to destroy the human race which dwelled on Earth—destroying everything in the room, obviously in a rage. But all the evil spirits did not move. Emarelda could be seen saying something, then flying off with the spirits following her.

"Is this what happened?" Sparx asked as the others gathered around.

"Yes," Silhouette whispered. "And this can only mean two things."

Everyone listened.

"Emarelda must have enlisted their help for something, and they're still here on Amere."

With that, Silhouette strode off, bravely muttering, "And I'll stop her."

Her brother, Jupiter, stopped her by grabbing her shoulder and turning her around to face him. "No, you can't! She's too powerful."

Suddenly, a loud cackling filled the air. "You're damn right!" a familiar voice called. A crack ran through the ground beneath their feet, coming right for them. Everyone sprang into the air, Silhouette taking on her dragon form, with Chiro on her back. The boy looked around.

"Peek-a-boo!" another voice shouted. Chiro found himself kicked by an invisible force, flying through the air and down to the crack which remained menacingly in the ground. His fingers grabbed the edge, his feet kicking air.

A familiar face—a boy with white hair, and red eyes—approached the struggling Chiro and kneeled down near him. "Helpless prey, do tell… From your position, you can see very well what fate lies beneath the calmness of shadow. Do tell me."

Chiro looked below…to see a river of black ooze, churning in the depths of the planet. It reminded him of Formless ooze…and he was about to fall in it.

"See you on the other side," the Skeleton Prince said, waving. He stomped on Chiro's hand, forcing him to let go of the edge and fall.

Silhouette swooped down, her wings pressed to her body to accommodate the small space, and grabbed Chiro from the air, swooping upwards into open air. A bright flash of light accompanied this performance, and shadow creatures hiding in darkness screamed.

Emarelda strode forth, spirits of shadow parting to allow her through. The light came from her, and she smiled as she watched the Hyperforce, the two remaining members of the Missing, and Maria fight off her hoard of shadow demons. It was futile. They were coming too fast.

Suddenly, Maria lunged in Emarelda's direction, her ghost claws grabbing onto Emarelda's snout, with fill intent to blind the green dragon by clawing her eyes. Emarelda roared and reared back, tossing Maria dangerously close to the crevice.

Emarelda banged her fists on the ground, and another crack appeared, heading for the frightened white monkey. She stood and tried to run…but a flash of green knocked her aside as Otto pushed her out of the way. He stood there for a moment, and then the ground beneath him gave way, and he fell.

* * *

Otto has sacrificed himself for Maria…but what will happen to him?

Find out soon! Sorry for the wait!

PS: If you like Avatar: The Last Airbender, look for a user named 'GanXingba'. He does the Avatar Abridged series; the newest one is HALARIOUS.


	3. Can't Be Helped

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**Chapter Three: Can't Be Helped…**

All eyes watched the pit silently. Silhouette attempted to swoop down and save Otto, but it was too late as a dull splash indicated the simian had fallen into the ooze.

Maria sobbed as her fingers gripped the edge of the crevice. "Otto!" she wailed.

Suddenly, there was a deep rumbling. Soft at first, then got deeper and deeper…and a roar pierced through the air. Maria scrambled back from the crevice.

Suddenly, a large, long, bony, and oozing arm reached from the pit. Three long extensions that looked like the structure of a bat's wing were on the arm as well. It grabbed for air for a second, then slammed down on the ground next to Maria. She ran backwards more as another hand reached up and grabbed the ground.

Two burning green eyes rose up from the crevice. They belonged to a giant black dragon. Its body consisted of Formless-like ooze, still dripping onto the ground. Its arms were its wings, like long, bony fingers. Its wing membranes were invisible, though. Markings on its chest looked like ribs, or, more specifically, like the markings on the Skeleton King's chest did. It had double-jointed legs (that's what I call legs that look like XLR8's, from Ben 10), and its feet had large, sharp talons. It was vaguely as tall as the Super Robot. In the middle of its forehead was a large piece of metal, elaborately decorated, obviously protecting something.

"Soul of Darkness," Emarelda muttered with appreciation. The large black dragon looked at her. "Reborn from the ashes, from the depths of Amere. Yet you need a mortal to take form."

Maria hung her arms over the edge of the crevice, calling Otto's name.

Emarelda grabbed her by the neck and hovered in the air with her. "I'd like to introduce you. This is the first Shadow being, born along with the universe. The first Shadow Lord…in a time when shadows _were_ evil…"

"Killed brutally, the texts say," Silhouette said, her eyes widening in realization. "To come back to the world of the living, he needed the soul of one close to the Light."

"And so he found one," Emarelda whispered. "Otto. I did not realize he was a light being."

She continued. "Brutally slaughtered, are what the ancient scrolls state, was Shadows' Soul. Shadows all lost their master that fateful day, around nine billion years after the universe was created. Then, a few billion years later, they reformed on Amere, a planet formed from a black hole. Shadow and Light separated to create two separate elements."

Emarelda grinned. "To put his soul at ease, he must kill the one who has taken his place."

Maria screeched and bit Emarelda's fingers with her sharp teeth. Emarelda yelled in pain and shook her hand to try to get the white monkey to let go. But she wouldn't, as the force of her teeth cause Emarelda's finger to start bleeding.

The large black dragon roared and fully emerged from the pit, carrying an air of death around him. He raised a large, bony wing, with fingers on the end, and batted Maria to the ground. He placed a foot on her back, beginning to crush the white monkey as one of his talons dug into her back.

The Super Robot came barreling towards them, grabbing the black dragon and throwing him to the ground. Maria watched as the two giants began battle. "Otto…" she whispered, before her body fell into unconsciousness.

The others watched in stunned silence as Otto—now a large, ancient dragon, once one of the calmest members of their team—battled hand-to-hand with the Super Robot. Despite being a little shorter, Otto's new form was surprisingly strong. He picked the Super Robot up and chucked it towards them.

Suddenly, a force field stopped it from falling. "No, no, no…" Emarelda chided. "It's not the machine you want."

With a flick of her wrist, and sent the Robot flying off over the horizon.

Antauri was suddenly next to Otto's (when I say Otto, it means his new dragon form, which is nearly as tall as the Super Robot and just as big) head. "Otto! Snap out of it!" the spiritual silver monkey called, as loud as he could.

What happened next was unexpected. Otto reared his large head around, snapping at Antauri—and catching the silver simian in his mouth.

"Antauri!" Chiro yelled. He started to run towards the huge dragon, but Emarelda grabbed him by his scarf.

"Not so fast, human," she hissed. She then grinned. "You know what I actually like about humans?"

Chiro didn't like the glint in her eyes.

"They're so easy to _break_."

With that, she tossed Chiro afar. He landed with a thud, and he could feel his ribs crack as his body weight landed on them. "Hey!" Nova yelled. "Leave him alone!" With that, she leapt at Emarelda.

Emarelda just smiled. "Nice try, Nova," she muttered, grabbing the yellow monkey by the tail.

As this fighting happened, Gibson, Sparx, Quint and Jupiter all dove at the large dragon that was Otto. They banged at his head, trying to get him to release Antauri.

A soft chuckling voice knocked into Chiro's thoughts. He looked up from his misery to see the Skeleton Prince kneeling near him, grinning. "Here to kill me off?" Chiro asked, coughing.

"No."

Chiro glared skeptically. "Don't trust me," the Prince said. "That's fine. I'll do as I please."

He clasped Chiro's hand and pulled him to his feet. The red eyed boy gazed at the green dragon, who was hovering with a smirk on her face as she watched the colossal black dragon fight the Hyperforce. Silhouette was nowhere to be seen.

The Skeleton Prince charged forward, hands outstretched. His hands turned into claws, very similar to Antauri's ghost claws. Emarelda turned towards the ghostly boy as he let out a yell…and soon wished she hadn't.

The claws of the Skeleton Prince shot forward, striking her across her face, leaving three bloody streaks on her face. She roared in pain, her form staggering in mid-air. Darkness swirled around her, flying towards the Skeleton Prince.

He found himself shoved to the ground as every spirit Emarelda freed piled on top of him. There was a bright flash of red, then another, and every spirit flew into the air, shrieking. Silhouette suddenly appeared, holding the black skull known as the Shadow Keystone. All the spirits formed a funnel as they were forcibly sucked into the stone. The Skeleton Prince was the only one left.

"Now for you…" Silhouette said menacingly. The Prince stood his ground.

"Wait!" Chiro called. "He helped me!"

Silhouette gazed from the Prince to Chiro. Then, she darted off.

"So…you're helping me?" Chiro asked, wincing as he placed a hand to his chest.

"I suppose you can put it that way," the Prince said. He walked over to Maria, and heaved the collapsed monkey over his shoulder. "Now, do you want to get away, or not?"

Poor Chiro didn't know what to do.

A roar in the background caught both of their attention. They watched as Otto finally lost his balance and tumbled backwards, overwhelmed by the Hyperforce's attacks. His hands clawed the air, in vain—he could not get up.

Emarelda shook her head. "For God's sake…" she hissed.

Something blew up in Otto's mouth, and Antauri finally flew out, covered in Formless goop. He looked disgusted, but soon composed himself.

"Give up, Emarelda," the Skeleton Prince said boldly, walking up to the green dragon.

"I won't," was her answer. "Not when the cards are laid out."

Otto was suddenly behind the Skeleton Prince, glaring menacingly. The Skeleton Prince froze in shock. The huge black dragon opened his mouth, flame bubbling in his throat…

"Chiro Spearo!!" A lightning bolt was thrown down the Otto's gullet, creating an explosion in his throat. He roared and stumbled backwards.

Silhouette flew up to the dragon and took on her primate form. Her hands turned into saws like Otto had. The dragon's eyes widened, and Silhouette moved the saws around. The dragon's eyes followed them with interest.

"C'mon, Otto…" Silhouette pleaded. "Remember me?"

The dragon was standing now, still watching the saws. Suddenly, he swung his tail, striking Silhouette, causing her to go flying back. She landed limp on the ground.

"Silhouette!" Sparx yelled.

Silhouette struggled to her feet, before her orange eyes began to glow, lighting up the darkness even more. "That's it…" she growled.

She jumped up and landed on the huge dragon's back. He roared and stumbled around as she climbed up to his head. Her hands formed into whips or orange energy, and she lashed them forward, wrapping them around the dragon's muzzle.

Suddenly, a piece of what looked like stone flew from the sky, slamming into the dragon's chest. Its pointed end punctured the skin, and it roared and fell back.

The stone flew around and landed; turns out, it was a ship, like a miniature version of the destroyed Citadel of Bone. The Skeleton Prince leaned out, yelling, "Everyone get in!"

"Why should we?" Nova demanded angrily.

"Sparx!" Silhouette yelled. The dragon had bit down on her whips, and she couldn't get out of his grip. She pulled, but in vain. As the dragon's large teeth pierced the material the whips were made of, electricity flashed along them, electrocuting both the dragon and Silhouette.

Sparx flew up and wrapped his hands around the black monkey's waist, pulling on her. Her whips finally tore free, and he carried her to the ground. She was a little woozy from the electricity, with little crackles of electricity flashing along her body.

"That's why," the Skeleton Prince told Nova. Chiro ran into the ship.

"Monkey Team!" he called. "Fall back!"

"Leaving so soon?" Emarelda asked tauntingly, but she did not move. "Aw… I was having so much fun…"

The Skeleton Prince handed Maria to Chiro as he entered, and the monkeys warily followed.

"No…" Silhouette said weakly. "I can't…leave…"

"We have to," the Skeleton Prince said. "You'll come back."

The others were surprised at how gentle the evil demon Prince was acting now. Chiro laid Maria down on a table in the back of the ship, and Sparx laid Silhouette down on another one. The Skeleton Prince started the ship up, and flew off.

"What about Otto?" Nova asked fearfully, watching as the huge black dragon's green eyes lit up, and it started running after the fleeing ship. The ship angled up sharper, and the dragon jumped up, snapping at the ship, barely missing it.

"He can't be helped now," the Prince said quietly.

With that, the ship cleared the atmosphere.

* * *

Emarelda watched as the ship flew away. The huge dragon walked over to her, each footstep cracking and shaking the ground. It looked at her with green eyes full of only one emotion—hate.

"I know, Otto," Emarelda said. "For now, I am your Master. You have to obey."

The dragon nodded obediently, and stood still. "Yes, Master…" its deep and rumbling voice said.

* * *

Amere's two moons seemed to emit a light all its own, while Orre's two moons seemed to suck it all away.

There had to be a balance, I suppose.

The Skeleton Prince landed his odd ship on the shiny sand-like material that covered Phota Solo, Amere's moon. Everyone got out, with the exception of Sparx and Gibson, who were watching over the two injured monkeys.

"So, why are you helping us?" Chiro began to interrogate his 'twin'; the Skeleton Prince just grinned.

"I told you, that blasted dragon took my powers! I can barely do anything."

"Oh, there's a shock," Nova muttered, only quiet enough for her to hear.

It didn't seem to work as all the others looked at her. "W-Well he's done nothing but torment Chiro and all of us! Why should we trust him?"

"Hm…" the Prince said slowly, crossing his arms. "Why indeed? I shall allow you to think on this." With that, he turned and walked off.

"Chiro, you are injured," Antauri reminded him. "Let Gibson give you a check-up, then we may talk."

Chiro looked at the retreating Skeleton Prince, who merely kept walking. Then, he nodded and walked off. "He saved me," Chiro said to Antauri, only loud enough for the silver monkey to hear. Then, he went to find Gibson.

Antauri turned to look at the Prince. He was now kneeling on the ground, grabbing handfuls of sparkly sand, watching the grains slip through his fingers. He kept doing this until Antauri and the others left to see how everyone else was doing.

* * *

Come on, people! REVIEWS I WANT!!


	4. Symbiotic

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**Chapter Four: Symbiotic**

"She will be fine, Antauri," Gibson said after the silver monkey asked about Maria's status. "I have bandaged her torso, but it will be a while before the wounds heal. No internal bleeding, and I have put a prop on her back so the spine won't bend…it was almost crushed." He turned to Chiro, who has his ribs bandaged up. "Your ribs are broken, I'm afraid, but not to seriously. They just need time to heal, so don't breathe too hard, and don't strain yourself and you should be fine." Chiro nodded.

"What about Silhouette?" Quint asked.

"The excess electricity just needs to be drained, and her systems will reboot," Gibson replied.

"I can do that," Sparx stated. Gibson wrapped some copper wire around Sparx's magnets, and wrapped and other ends around Silhouette's wrists. Immediately, the electricity flowed from her to him, becoming stored power in his magnets.

The black monkey began coughing violently. Sparx turned his magnets back into hands and helped her sit up as she continued to cough. Then, she opened her eyes and looked around. "Huh? …Wha—"

Sparx hugged her gently. "Glad to see you're okay," he said.

"What happened?" she asked. She jumped as she received a small shock.

"Take it easy; not all of the excess electricity is out of your system," Gibson warned.

"Oww… Maria!" Silhouette saw the white monkey. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine, but you need to stay still," Gibson sighed.

Silhouette shook her head. "I'm fine. What happened?"

After a long explanation, Silhouette sighed. "Guys, Shruikan said I can't leave."

"Silhouette—" Quint started.

"No! Amere will fall apart without a Shadow Lord! My power isn't tied fully into the planet yet… And that's what Emarelda wanted us to do. Leave so the source of shadows is destroyed, and light will take over."

She swung her legs off the side of the table. "Skeleton Prince!"

The Skeleton Prince walked calmly in. "Yes?"

"If you truly want your freedom from the realm of shadows, help my friends defeat Emarelda. You will be let go, and I will return your powers."

Chiro blinked. "What?" he whispered harshly.

"Except," Silhouette finished, "for your power to overshadow sentient beings."

The Skeleton Prince crossed his arms smugly. "Why not all my powers?"

"I don't trust you."

"Fine."

Sparx leaned down to her. "What are you doing?"

"With Shruikan away, he's the only person besides me with working knowledge of how Amere works."

"What about you?"

"I'm going back."

"W-What?" Quint asked in shock. "No!"

"Yes," Silhouette growled.

"Why?"

"We're symbiotic!" she yelled, starting to cry. "You knew that!!"

Gibson stepped forward. "You and the planet? It's…alive?"

"In a way, yes, just like all the Keystones are. If I leave, Amere dies, and if Amere dies, I die. For the next year, I can't be any further away than Amere's furthest-away moon, which is Phota Twili. I just can't."

Her brother lay his hand on her shoulder, but she angrily shrugged it off, standing up and walking away.

"How would you feel if you were taken from your home world?" Sparx hissed at Quint.

"How would _you_ feel if your only sister was killed by a former friend?" the orange monkey retorted. "Go get her, now."

Sparx nodded and ran off to find the black monkey. The others filed out after the red monkey, with the reassurance that Maria would wake soon. The Skeleton Prince remained behind.

"And you," Quint added as soon as everyone left, glaring at the Skeleton Prince. "I don't trust you, so it would be wise to leave."

"I don't obey you," the Skeleton Prince said, crossing his arms.

Quint growled and reared an arm back to punch the Prince. His fist shot forward, but the Prince moved with lightning reflexes and grabbed his wrist. The Prince glared and bent Quint's hand back in the wrong direction, causing the monkey to yell in pain and fall to his knees. The Skeleton Prince finally released the monkey's arm. Quint cradled his arm, looking up at the Prince, glaring more. He suddenly found a menacing, black blade inches from the side of his head.

"You don't trust me?" the Skeleton Prince said. "That's fine. I see why you wouldn't. But let me get this through your thick, metal skull… I'm not wasting my time to be good in the eyes of one mere monkey…"

With that, he tossed the sword into the air, watching as it disappeared, and left.

* * *

"Sparx, I need to go," Silhouette pleaded with her boyfriend. "The Skeleton Prince can inform you of Shruikan's whereabouts, since we discussed his leaving in the vault."

"But I don't want you getting hurt," Sparx protested, resting his hands on her shoulders.

"Emarelda herself can't hurt me," she said, giving a half-hearted laugh.

"I still don't like the idea of you going off by yourself," Sparx said. "At least one of us should go with you."

"No. This is my fight. My fault."

"Your brother won't let you," Sparx said. He kissed her cheek. Silhouette smiled, and looked behind him to see Quint running towards them.

"Then let's give him no say," Silhouette whispered.

She turned around, her robotic body taking on the shape of a dragon. "Silhouette!" she heard her brother call.

She ignored him as she spread her wings and flew off. "I'm sorry, Quint!" she called back. "But I'm not your little sister anymore!"

And with that, she vanished into the skies.

Quint was next to Sparx. He turned and glared at the red monkey, tears in his eyes. "You! What have you done?!"

"Me? I didn't do anything! I tried to talk her out of it, but she has an iron will."

"You wanna know who else has an iron will?" Quint asked angrily.

Sparx was about to respond when a fist was sent flying across his cheek. He fell backwards as Quint attacked him.

"What the he—" Sparx started, before Quint kicked him in the stomach. The orange monkey then proceeded to beat the stuffing out of Sparx.

"Hey!" a voice called. Nova. "What are you two doing?"

Nova's arms wrapped around Quint, and pulled him violently away from Sparx, who had already taken a lot of hits, and was bruised up badly.

Nova threw Quint to the ground and pinned him there with her foot on his chest. "I'm sorry…" she muttered. "But what the heck are you doing?"

The others ran up, and Chiro helped Sparx to stand. "What is wrong with you?" Jupiter asked his brother.

Quint glared over at Sparx. The Skeleton Prince walked calmly over and helped the red monkey up. Gibson came over to examine the red monkey.

"Well, this red moron made Silhouette leave!" Quint accused.

"She was going to leave anyway!" Sparx retorted. "I tried to talk her out of it!!"

"Quint, she was leaving anyway," Jupiter said angrily, glaring at his brother. "She's not little anymore."

Quint finally calmed down. "That's what she said…" he muttered.

* * *

Silhouette sighed, as she hid in a cave only she knew about. She looked at her hands, cursing herself for being so easily controlled by the emerald dragon. She was her creation, and she hated herself for it.

With Shruikan gone, the most powerful being she knew taking over the realm of shadows, and all the evil spirits under control, there was only one option.

She sighed.

"I hope that, once you get over the betrayal, we can still be friends," she whispered to herself.

She stood and extended her arms, closing her arms as her body changed shape…but not into a dragon.

Her body formed into a big robot. It had claws for hands, and two antennas. Its eyes, like hers, were orange. It large feet had spread-out toes, like those of a skeletal foot. The robot had a large screen in the center, where its 'face' was situated.

The robot glared ahead. "Time to appeal to a traitor," Silhouette said, determined. The boosters on her feet powered up, and she flew upwards, blasting through the stone roof of the cave.

Or, more specifically…the tomb.

* * *

For the love of crap; this chapter sucked.

Oh, in case you were wondering…it's not very easy to describe TV Monster's newer form.


	5. The Book of Demons

**A****n****c****i****e****n****t ****L****e****g****a****c****i****e****s**

**Chapter Five: The Book of Demons**

Emarelda looked at the huge dragon, who was standing next to her. It glared at her and growled, and she merely chuckled.

"How can the Power Primate be centered on Shuggazoom…and Earth?" Emarelda asked herself. "It's not possible."

"No matter," she continued. "That means we can destroy one of the two planets without destroy the element of Earth." The black dragon roared and spread its wings. "Otto," Emarelda said, snickering, "How would you like to destroy a planet?"

* * *

After Maria had woken up, and had been briefed on the situation, the Hyperforce confronted the Skeleton Prince. They had him trapped in a force field, and he merely stood there calmly. Chiro did the only talking.

"So, why does Silhouette want you to help?" Chiro demanded angrily. "She obviously doesn't know your past."

"Oh, she does. All of my past." The Prince leaned back, putting his hands behind his head in a manner similar to Chiro. He began to laugh hysterically. "Why does she trust me indeed? Years I spent in agonizing torture, awaiting my death…but I cannot die." His fingers gripped the force field in front of him, and he scowled. "You want the truth? There's only one place you will get it…in this life…"

He stepped back, and a dark energy formed in his hands. Everyone stepped back and activated their weapons. But, instead of a weapon, a book appeared. It fell to the floor, where the Skeleton Prince's foot kicked it through the force field.

Chiro picked it up, and brushed the dust off with one hand. He gaped at the title.

_The Demon Pages._

"Where'd you get this?" Chiro asked, trying to keep the anger out of his voice.

The Skeleton Prince just smiled. "All in due time, my friend."

Chiro scowled. "I'm no friend of yours!! You tried to kill me! More than once!"

The Prince just grinned. "But I did save your life once. But, as you may not know…"

He leaned forward to press his hands on the force field. "My existence depends on yours. If you die, I die."

Chiro stood completely still. Suddenly, the book in his hands quivered, and the pages flew open. They fluttered rapidly to a certain page, and stopped.

On the page was a picture of the huge, black dragon. As everyone crowded around Chiro, they noticed, though, that the words were in another language.

"How the heck are we supposed to read it then?" Sparx demanded of the Prince.

"The language is Akin, the ancient language of Shadow," the Prince told them calmly. He grinned.

Gibson stepped closer. "What was the language?"

"Akin, he said," Chiro told them. "The name stands to point out that all shadows are the same, thus, akin to each other."

Silence. Then…

"How do you know that?" Nova asked in shock.

"Let's just say that, when I was little, English was just a secondary language." He held the book tightly. "I can read this."

"Each elemental world has their own lost, ancient language that few can speak anymore. I only know Amere's," the Skeleton Prince told them.

"Earth's is Latin," Maria explained. "But it is still used, but not frequently."

"Ah." The blue monkey nodded.

"So, what do we do now?" Sparx asked.

"Just what your girlfriend told us to do," the Skeleton Prince said, smirking. "We find the previous Shadow Lord, Shruikan. He is one of the only few who can match Emarelda's power."

Everyone looked to Chiro, waiting for a command. Finally, the boy nodded. "Okay, we'll look…but you're staying in there," he told the Skeleton Prince.

The white-haired demon smiled and leaned back into the chair that was in the force field behind him. "Suit yourself."

Suddenly, an alarm went off. Unlike the one in the Super Robot, this one sounded like the ring of a dying bell, like metal ringing against metal. Everyone looked around, none of them realizing it was an alarm.

A road echoed through the ship, and everyone but the Skeleton Prince exited to see the giant black dragon that was Otto fly through the air over the ground, its claws dragging through the sand. It landed and folded its wings. It remained that way for a minute, then turned to look at them with the saddest look any of them had ever seen.

Then, it took off into space.

The Hyperforce ran back inside the ship. Gibson watched the dragon and calculated its trajectory, to see where it was going. He entered his calculations into his scanner, and gasped.

"He's heading for Earth!"

* * *

Wow, short chapter.

Sorry for not updating. I had writer's block.


	6. In That Time

**Chapter Six: In That Time**

The tall robot entered a secret chamber, located deep beneath the surface of the planet. It faced a stone wall, which was engraved with the symbol that stood for the element Shadow. Its sharp, strong claws slammed into the stone wall, piercing through. Pushing forward, the robot broke the stone door down, and entered the chamber's center.

In the center chamber was a light. It illuminated the space just below it, bathing a figure in light.

"Finally," a familiar voice said, as the figure stepped forward. Its arms crossed, its one stub of a hand dangling uselessly. "My signal may have been slowed by this vile planet, but you have come, robot."

Suddenly, the small figure found him pressed against an opposite wall by his chest, the robot's claws holding him there. He struggled to get out, but was not strong enough.

"Release me!" he yelled.

"I'm here to reprimand you on the years you and the Skeleton King kept me prisoner, Mandarin," Silhouette said, growling. Mandarin's eyes widened. "You enslaved me, kept me from my brothers, and nearly killed me over and over. You fooled me with false memories, and tormented me."

"How have you managed to break free of my master's hold?" Mandarin demanded.

"A savior," Silhouette muttered. "The Hyperforce."

Silhouette's other robotic hand began to build up energy as the memory came to her mind…

* * *

_A huge explosion shattered the silence she had grown so used to. Her ocular coverings had been shattered a long time ago, and her body was broken. She had abandoned hope, and had left herself to her fate—to rust in the darkness, collecting dust._

_Silhouette looked up from her imprisonment, only to see four creatures that looked exactly like her, and a creature she did not recognize. It had been months since the death of her master, maybe even years, but she was not keeping track. His palace, the Citadel of Bone, has crashed into the outskirts of Shuggazoom City during the huge battle._

_"He's keeping prisoners?" the green monkey robot asked, looking to the others. He walked up to her, and she wanted desperately to get away, but her arms and legs were chained to the wall. The green monkey had saws instead of hands, and Silhouette shut her eyes, sure they were sent by her master to kill her._

_Instead, she felt herself fall limply to the ground. She couldn't move._

_"I thought there were only you guys," the other odd creature asked, an odd tone to his voice as the blue monkey moved over to her side._

_"You never know, the Skeleton King could have created another," the blue monkey said. His hand turned from a drill to a weird looking plug-in device, and he plugged it into the back of her head. "Hm… She has a programming block, but I believe I can delete it."_

_"Programming block?" the red monkey said. "She?" He grinned._

_"Sparx, I highly doubt she would be interested in you," the yellow monkey said harshly._

_"Hey, I—"_

_Suddenly, the plug-in tool beeped as its job was completed, and the blue monkey pulled back and said, "There we go. She should be getting up—"_

_Suddenly, Silhouette shot up and raced for the door. But, the use of her arms and legs still betrayed her, so she tripped and barreled into the door._

_"Oww!" she said, holding her nose._

_"Whoa! You okay?" the red monkey—Sparx—asked in concern. His tone of voice caught her attention, and she nodded, which she knew meant 'yes'._

_"I'm Sparx, by the way," Sparx continued._

_"I'm Otto!" the green monkey said cheerfully._

_"I'm Nova," the yellow monkey said; by her tone of voice, Silhouette could tell she was female._

_"I'm Gibson," the blue monkey said simply._

_"I'm Chiro," the odd-looking creature said. Without the shadows covering its face, Silhouette recognized it as a human._

_"I am Antauri," a fifth monkey said. She jumped as he approached her. She didn't even see him; though with his bright silver coloration, she knew she should have._

_Antauri knelt down next to her. "Are you okay? How long have you been in here?"_

_Silhouette tried to form the words, but they didn't come. Finally, she managed a choked, "I don't know…"_

_Man, even her voice is hot! Sparx thought in admiration._

_Then, the black monkey looked at him. She looked hesitantly down to her feet. "I remember…a lot of noise. And everything was shaking around, but I was still here."_

_"It must've been when we destroyed the Citadel's propulsion," Chiro said thoughtfully. "That was…a year ago!!"_

_"I just wanna go home," Silhouette whimpered, drawing her knees up to her chest._

_"Well, first we have to know your name," Chiro said sympathetically._

_"I'm………Silhouette."_

* * *

_So the next few months were spent getting acquainted with the female monkey known as Silhouette. She was very shy, mostly hiding in places no one ever looked. Even though she was fairly new, she seemed to know the Super Robot right and front. She only talked around Sparx, and everyone noticed the friendship building._

_She finally calmed down enough, after a long time, to tell the Hyperforce the names of her brothers. Jupiter and Quint. After finally finding them, and reuniting Silhouette and her brothers, they were offered to stay on Shuggazoom for as long as they wanted. They accepted, until…_

* * *

"Emarelda came for us about a year later," Silhouette finished. "And she took us back home."

"Who is…Emarelda?" Mandarin managed to gasp out. Silhouette loosened her hold on his throat, but kept him pinned to the wall.

"My creator. My real creator. Though I bitterly regret it…"

She stood back, still holding Mandarin, though he was no longer pinned to the wall. "It's time you've paid for all that you did to me, Mandarin. And since I can't kill Skeleton King over it, you'll have to do."

She reached back a large, robotic claw, ready to strike Mandarin, when she paused. "Unless, if you do one thing, I might be willing to spare your life."

"Why would I ever help you?" Mandarin demanded, glaring.

Suddenly, he was shocked by a powerful electric shock. He screamed, before falling limp to the ground as Silhouette released him.

"Fine…" Mandarin ground out. "What do you need?"

"Help me save Otto," she muttered.

Mandarin's glare vanished suddenly. "Otto?"

* * *

The small, sleek ship chased after the large dragon, lithely dodging asteroids, and the occasional comet once they got into the Earthen Solar System. The Prince was piloting; a fact no one could get around, not even Sparx could pilot this strange ship.

"There's the planet I was named after," Jupiter said, pointing to a golden orange planet with a huge red dot on it. "Jupiter. Emarelda loved the source of power located on the planet. It always emitted energy."

"We're not here to sight-see, Jupiter," the Skeleton Prince told him. "We have to stop that thing before it gets to Earth. If the humans discover it, we're all screwed."

"Why?" Chiro asked.

"I can't explain. Thank Emarelda for instilling that fear in me."

Everyone let the ominous saying hang in the air for a moment. Then, Chiro pointed.

"He's landing on that asteroid!"

"That's not an asteroid, Chiro," Gibson corrected. "That's Earth's moon."

"Oh."

But, true to Chiro's words, the huge dragon landed on the Moon, laying down and resting his head on the soft material the Moon was covered with.

"Is he going to sleep?" Maria asked quietly.

Her question was left unanswered as the dragon's form rippled, stretched, and changed, into a form that looked very similar to the laser Emarelda had built.

And he took aim at Earth.

"No!" Maria yelled.

Suddenly, the laser was gone, and the dragon was on top of the ship, its teeth biting through the hull. The Skeleton Prince rapidly typed at the controls, but nothing worked.

"I am not going to lose my ship!" he yelled.

With that, he vanished.

* * *

"This is different from your average Formless creature," Silhouette told Mandarin. She was now in her monkey form. "He's over nine billion years old, and he can predict your every move."

"Then how do you expect me to defeat him?" Mandarin asked, smugly crossing his arms.

"Your original form used to be best friends with Otto," Silhouette said. She sighed. "I guess, what I'm asking is this: Where's the true Mandarin?"

Mandarin blinked.

"You know. I can tell."

"Ask the Skeleton King," Mandarin sneered.

"And I only freed you because you know," Silhouette sighed. "I can always seal you away again."

Mandarin looked around, hoping for an escape. Finding none, he sighed.

"The original Mandarin survived the Skeleton King's punishment after the failed cloning operation. He escaped, and is hiding out on Shuggazoom."

Silhouette placed a hand on his shoulder. "The real Mandarin did nothing wrong to me. He rarely even bothered with me. It was you who tormented me…and it's you who will pay."

Blinking once, Mandarin ran off. Silhouette watched calmly as he exited his prison hold, deep beneath Amere, and started to climb out. He shrieked at his body started to harden, his skin turning to stone.

Silhouette stepped up to him as his neck began to change. "Y-You…you lied to me!" he screamed.

"I did?" Silhouette gasped. "Well, then it's all in your mind. I never said for sure that I'd let you go free. I said maybe. I said I'd make you pay for the years you kept me prisoner. I kept my promise."

Mandarin screamed as his whole body finally turned to stone.

Silhouette picked the frozen Mandarin up, and placed him back within the prison hold, under the stream of light. She then left.

* * *

_IIIIIIIt's ME!!!_

_Surprised to see a story of mine updated, Hyperforce fans?_

_I figured it's been so long; I'm always one tied to my past. D: I owe you all to finish this damn story, even if no one reads it anymore._

_I apologize for my absence, but after this story is finished, it'll probably be the last you'll here from me on the Hyperforce section of the site._

_This makes me sound like I'm dying. LOL Still, I bitterly apologize. This story's been done, but I was too lazy to upload. I owe you all something._


	7. Light Crystals

**Chapter Seven: Light Crystals**

The dragon continued to tear out sections of the Skeleton Prince's ship. Chiro scrambled to find a suit that would allow him to breathe in space, as the monkeys looked around the control panel in panic.

As Chiro finally found a full-body suit, the ship was torn to shreds.

Then, the monster cried out in pain. As the monkeys floated helplessly among the debris, they could see as the Skeleton Prince was shooting energy bolts at the dragon. One hit the metal plate on its forehead, and its form flickered for a minute. It then lashed back to attack.

"No!" Maria activated her jet pack and flew over to the Skeleton Prince, grabbing his arm. "Don't hurt him!"

"You want him back to normal, don't you?" he asked. She nodded. "Then attack him with all you've got!"

As everyone rushed to attack, Maria stayed rooted where she was.

* * *

Silhouette glided smoothly through the cosmos, leisurely, with calm in her mind. She watched idly as the stars whizzed by her, along with the occasional asteroid. Her goal was set in her mind; she knew where to go, what to do, and how to do it.

"I hope Quint's okay…" she muttered to herself. "He always thinks I get high and mighty when I go off like this…"

Hours after flying through space, she came upon Shuggazoom. She floated there in space as a memory flashed before her mind.

* * *

"_There you are," Sparx said, opening one of the cupboards in the kitchen to find Silhouette inside, hugging her knees to her chest._

"_How do you keep finding me?" she asked._

"_Gibson's got a scanner," was his answer._

"_Oh."_

"_Why don't you come out in the main room with the rest of us?" Sparx asked._

_She looked down and fiddled with her tail._

"_Aw, come on…" He gently grabbed her arm and helped her down from the cupboard. "Be with people for once."_

_She smiled a little._

_Suddenly, an alarm went off. The blaring sound startled Silhouette, for she never heard an alarm before, and she tried to run off, but Sparx still held her arm._

"_It's okay, it's okay!" he assured her. "It's just the alarm. C'mon!"_

_They ran together to the main room. The others were there, looking at the main screen._

"_Oh, you found her!" Otto said happily._

"_Just in time for us to get squashed!" Chiro exclaimed. On the main screen was a meteor; one far too large for the Super Robot—or any of its weapons—to destroy._

_Silhouette took a step back. "What is that?"_

_The others looked at her, dumbfounded, before Sparx answered, "It's a meteor. It'll crash down here and destroy the city!"_

_Silhouette looked up at the giant, falling, flaming rock before saying, "No it won't."_

"_Are you absurd?" Gibson asked, turning to her._

_But she was gone._

"_Silhouette?!" Sparx called._

"_Look!"_

_On the screen, it showed the area at the feet of the Super Robot. Silhouette was there, standing defiant. As the meteor grew closer, the light blinded everyone in the Super Robot. But, then something happened that let them see again._

_Silhouette was now a large, black, robotic dragon, flying up to the meteor. Sparx cried out, but Silhouette rammed into the meteor. The force of the impact was no where near enough to stop the space rock, but was more than enough needed to break it into thousands of pieces._

_Silhouette was blown back to the ground, now in her monkey form. She shook the dust and debris off her body, before she was grabbed in a tight hug._

"_That was _amazing_!" Sparx complimented, hugging her tightly. Luckily no one could see her blush._

_Barely. She saw Antauri—the silver monkey who she didn't really talk to—smiling and nodding._

"_Very impressive," the usually quiet monkey said._

_The others ran up as Sparx released her, and she smiled. "That was astounding!" Gibson said. "How did you—"_

"_My body is made up of a metal that can grow, bend, and change its shape however I want," Silhouette explained. "I'm not sure if I was made to help or hurt anymore…the Skeleton King ruined my memory…"_

_Sparx put a hand on her shoulder. "Well…feel like staying with us?"_

_Silhouette blinked. "For how long?"_

"_As long as you want to," Chiro said, smiling._

_The others could see the uncertainty in her eyes, so Antauri asked, "Are you okay?"_

"_I have two brothers," Silhouette announced. "They're probably looking for me…"_

"_Well, we can find them," Sparx said boldly. "You should stay with us, though, until we do."_

_Silhouette fidgeted with her tail; Sparx knew that she was uncertain about something when she did this. Finally, she looked up and smiled. "I'd like to stay with you."_

* * *

She had missed out on a lot of things in life. Being captured by the Skeleton King, as Emarelda was on a hiatus to help Shruikan with something. She had recently tried swimming—and was nearly drowned by a monster lurking under Orre's unpredictable oceans.

Her brothers didn't expect the Skeleton King to come—they didn't even know who he was. They only knew nice shadow beings, and were thus surprised, overpowered, and defeated. When Quint and Jupiter came to, their sister was gone.

Again.

She remembered flying through space, and being captured by a large, robotic ship. With her mind restoring itself, she controlled it. When it had suddenly exploded, she had taken parts and reassimilated herself. The rest after that was too much of a blur to make anything out.

The Skeleton King turned their sister into his loyal slave, the machine known to him as TV Monster. He used her for evil, and though very strong minded originally, she was powerless to do anything. Her mind was literally ripped apart, starting with her memories, then her sanity. Luckily the Skeleton King was defeated before he could truly destroy her sanity.

Silhouette shook the thoughts from her head, and began her descent to Shuggazoom.

* * *

Maria hated to do it, but she had to.

She flew forward, slamming the huge dragon on the head as hard as she could. There was a sickening cracking sound, and everyone watched as a crack appeared in the metal that adorned the dragon's head.

More cracks appeared and spread, and with a bright flash of light, the metal shattered.

Underneath the metal was a large, brightly pulsing gem, flashing in multicolor.

"A light crystal!" Jupiter yelled.

"All shadows have one with them, because no shadow can exist without their weakness, light," Quint explained.

Everyone turned to the Skeleton Prince while the dragon shook its head. He looked around, then opened his hand, facing the palm towards them. There was a similar crystal fused to his palm, only smaller.

"Does Silhouette have one?" Sparx wondered.

"Maybe," Jupiter said. "She lives in the light most of the time, plus she has the Shadow Keystone."

The dragon suddenly roared, and flew at them at high speeds. They all darted away, but Maria turned back to him. With her ghost claws activated, she created a spear of energy and aimed it.

"Sorry Otto…" she murmured.

But the dragon was too quick. He came from behind and swiped at her, sending her flying. She crash-landed on the soft soil of the Moon, somewhat cushioning her landing. She looked up to see the dragon and the Skeleton Prince exchange bolts of dark energy, and attacks from the waiting others came in every now and again.

In Maria's other hand, another weapon formed from energy. She knocked the spear like an arrow on a bow, and aimed for the crystal.

"C'mon, stay still…"

Suddenly, the dragon vanished.

Maria almost dropped her weapons, but hearing a sound behind her, she turned around. She jumped out of the way in time; a huge, scaled, clawed hand slammed down where she stood.

She jumped back, taking aim at the crystal as the hand was drawn back. Like a bow, the spear flew…straight into the crystal.

A piercing shriek echoed through the cosmos, touching every corner of the universe (wow, loud!).

* * *

Silhouette paused as she reached the surface of Shuggazoom, looking where the Super Robot used to stand. Where she had destroyed that meteor.

Suddenly, an ear-splitting screech echoed through the air; the very molecules vibrated.

She knew what had happened. She felt her heart shudder a little.

* * *

As she looked down, she saw clouds crackling and sparking with lightning.

As she looked up, she saw a clear, starry sky that no being on the surface would ever see.

There were creatures on Aether that not even Emarelda could control. And she knew this. Only the true Keeper of the Lightning Keystone, AKA the Ether Spirit, could control the beings that hid under the clouds. Not even she knew what they were like.

Suddenly, as her feet trailed the clouds she flew over, absorbing the power from them, a loud, pain-stricken scream met her ears. So shocked she was that all the power she had absorbed was released back into the atmosphere.

She suddenly changed her path of flight to angle upwards, into space.

* * *

_Another chapter. The story's already done, so expect it to be fully updated in a few days._

_My Hyperforce writing skills have gotten rusty. I haven't seen the show in so long. :(_


	8. Pain

**Chapter Eight: Pain**

Maria fell backwards as a huge explosion rocked the ground, the dragon stumbling around and grabbing at the crystal on his head. He fell backwards, and another explosion caused his form to shatter, the shadows that made up his body flying outwards, shrieking as they flew through space.

There, lying on the ground, was Otto.

"Otto!" Maria yelled, running up to him.

She knelt next to him and placed a hand on his forehead. She noticed that, in his right hand was a crystal, just like the one the Skeleton Prince had.

* * *

"He is tied to shadow," Emarelda said, beginning to fly again. "No longer can he be without darkness."

She began to fly again, her anger building.

* * *

Maria shook the green mechanic. "Otto? Otto, wake up, please!"

She held his hand, and suddenly, he jumped up, drawing away from her.

"Otto?"

Otto turned to her, holding his own hand, saying, "Wh-What happened?"

"Um…" Maria didn't exactly know what to say.

"What happened to your back?" he asked, noting the bandages that were still around her torso.

"Nothing," she said. She hugged him. "I'm glad you're okay."

"But what happened?"

"Your body merged with an ancient shadow demon," the Skeleton Prince said, coming down.

Otto gaped. "What?"

Maria put her hands on his shoulders. "Don't worry. I think Silhouette can explain it better than we can. For now, let's find her."

"Don't bother," a voice said. "All of you are dead anyway."

They all turned around to see Emarelda. But, now, instead of green, her scales were a fuming red—like they were on fire.

"I'm tired of you lower creatures ruining my plans," Emarelda seethed. "You guys need to learn to butt out of the business of magic, seeing as some of you don't believe in it!"

Everyone turned to Gibson.

"Oh, but it's real. It's in every molecule of every element, of every living being." She sighed to calm herself. "Make me upset, and people die. But I am merciful, so, go home to your pitiful home world, and I'll leave you be."

"Never!" Chiro shouted.

Emarelda slightly grinned. "So be it."

A beam of energy suddenly shot through space, hitting the ground near the group's feet. Emarelda let out a roar, and dive-bombed them.

Otto let out a yell and brought his saws out—but something was wrong. While the saw on his left hand was normal, the one on his right had a multi-colored blade instead of green. Upon noticing this, he stopped in his attack. He glanced at him saw, confused.

Emarelda grabbed his hand, and Otto glared, and his saw began to spin. But, as soon as it started spinning, part of the saw chipped off. Otto yelled out in pain, and Emarelda grinned.

"Sensitive spot, huh?" she asked mockingly.

Otto reared back and tossed his saw—faster than anyone's eyes could follow. It caught Emarelda right in her left side, and she jumped back. The gash on her side actually cut through her hard scales, through her skin, causing her to bleed. Her blood was not red like most other living beings', but it was multi-colored, like her element, Light.

Her eyes blazed an angry red, and she rose up to her full height, which was eleven feet high (ha, you thought it was seven).

"You want to know _pain_, you dumb ape?" she asked, her eyes turning red. "Well, I'll show you the worst kind of pain there is…"

Suddenly, there was a whizzing sound, and something struck the green dragon in the back of the head. There was a flash of orange, and Emarelda almost lost her balance. Then, something hit her in the stomach, sending her stumbling back. Her head hit a conveniently placed stone, and she was knocked out.

And, now, Mandarin stood before his old team.

He was in his original form, which looked just like the other monkeys. His pupils were still red, and he glared at all of them.

"Ah, my brothers," he said. "Good to see you again."

Suddenly, weapons were shoved up to the orange monkey. "What do you want, Mandarin?" Sparx demanded angrily, his magnets sparking.

Mandarin chuckled and shook his head. "Nothing you need to worry about, _Sparky_. Leave her to us."

"'Us'?"

"I was sent for," Mandarin stated, crossing his arms smugly.

"By who?"

"Yes, by whom?" Emarelda asked, now standing up right behind Mandarin. She grinned. "Mandarin."

"Emarelda," the orange monkey muttered.

"You know each other?" Chiro demanded.

"Like I don't know the infamous Mandarin," Emarelda growled.

"And I've heard of you," Mandarin retorted. "Master of Light, weak against your own forte."

"Huh?" Emarelda asked harshly. "What do you mean?"

"Oh dear, I must be blabbering on again," Mandarin said innocently. "Certainly nothing _you_ would be interested in."

"What do you want?" Emarelda narrowed her eyes.

"A proposition," Mandarin chuckled, fingering something in his hands. "You leave my brothers be, and you'll get this."

He opened his hand, and a bright light shot out. There, in his palm, was the Light Keystone.

Emarelda froze.

"I could imagine the discomfort," Mandarin said slowly, grinning. "So very powerful, yet as fragile as a water-filled balloon."

His metal hand enclosed around the Keystone, and the light flowed over his face. He grinned.

He held it forth, the Keystone hovering over his hand. "I learned from a source that the Keystones are divine. Does anyone know what that means?" He turned to the others, like a teacher teaching a class.

"It knows right from wrong in the eyes of its creator," Emarelda growled. "Give it back!"

"_In the eyes of its creator_," Mandarin repeated. He smirked as Emarelda glared murderously.

"Face it, Emarelda," Silhouette said calmly, coming up behind Mandarin. "You can't win."

They were all surprised as Emarelda chucked. "Dear, _dear_ Silhouette. You don't know the things I can teach you."

"I don't need to learn how to fight," Silhouette angrily retorted.

"I don't need to teach you how to fight." At this, Emarelda took out a small, thin piece of metal. It was just a plain rectangle. Emarelda grinned. "You need to learn how to _obey_."

She released the small metal piece, which hovered in the air for a second before whizzing over to where Silhouette was. She swiped at it, but it flew around and landed on the back of her head, plugging into the socket in the back.

She struggled and tried to reach around to grab the small tool. Sparx ran over and tried to help, but it was firmly in. Sparx turned to Emarelda, angry, while the Skeleton Prince tried to help.

Then, with a loud creak, Silhouette's form changed. But not into a dragon; into her oldest form, that of the TV Monster the Skeleton King controlled. Everyone gasped.

"Tell no one of your past, and reap negative rewards at the time most unsuitable," Emarelda chanted. "Isn't that right…TV Monster?"

Silhouette did not speak.

"Wh-What's this all about?" Gibson asked, confused.

"My so-called-creator _sold_ me to the Skeleton King, that's what," Silhouette said, her voice more metallic. "I fought you guys all these years."

Silence. Stunned silence.

"We were lucky to find you," Gibson said. "One more day locked in the Citadel and you would have died."

No one noticed the Skeleton Prince and Silhouette gazing at each other, wherein the Prince nodded and whispered something to Mandarin.

Silhouette took what Gibson just said into account. "Maybe it would have been for the best. Then you wouldn't be caught up with this stuff."

Mandarin discreetly handed the Light Keystone to Silhouette. Last time she touched it, it numbed the power of the Shadow Keystone. But this time, both Keystones merely ignored each other. In her other hand was the Shadow Keystone. She flexed her hard, mechanical fingers, but could not return to her primate form.

"Silhouette, don't say that," Sparx said, shaking his head. "Be glad we found you. I am."

"Two against zero, Emarelda," Silhouette said, ignoring Sparx. "You can't win."

"What do you mean against zero?" Emarelda cocked her head and snapped her fingers, and Silhouette's form shrunk to that of her primate form.

Silhouette held out her hands. "Two Keystones."

With that, Silhouette vanished.

Emarelda looked around, glaring. "Where'd she go?"

The others were looking around, too.

* * *

Aether was a planet where life fought and lived constantly with death. The atmospheric conditions were always in turmoil as the planet died and was reborn. The Ether Spirit pumped its power into the planet in waves. But the planet was frail, and always became too dead to do anything. With the constant power coursing through it, it always remained alive, but on the brink of death. Neither alive nor dead.

Aether, the planet itself, knew all that was happening. And it did one thing it had never done in the history of the universe.

It became visible, like a physical planet.

Silhouette flew down to the planet, watching the clouds roll like ocean waves. She finally arrived at one of the few temples jutting above the clouds, where the remains of a cannon-like weapon remained.

Silhouette sat down and waited.

Finally, she spoke. "Find one, yet?"

A figure came out from behind the cannon and smiled. "Yes, I believe I have. This one will teach her what her purpose in this universe is."

"Are you sure, Shruikan?"

"I've never been more sure. Her memory will be restored, one bit at a time."

"Wouldn't that be bad for us?"

"Not when a human is in control."

"What if it becomes power crazy, like Emarelda did?"

"It will control Emarelda, who, in turn, will guide it in the world. A symbiotic relationship, as you are with my world."

Silhouette nodded to her wise tutor. "Then I'll catch Emarelda. Be here."

With that, she flew off.

Shruikan smiled slightly and turned around, to the rolling sea of clouds. A large hand shot out, grabbing onto the side of the mountain the deserted monument was on. Another followed suit. A huge, familiar figure rose up from the clouds, giving Shruikan a brief view of the terrain under them—nothing but blackness, with bolts of lightning.

"On the brink of death or defeat, we look to the light for hope," Shruikan told the huge figure. "Now, Soul of Shadow, it is reversed. Light threatens to destroy us, so we look to the shroud of darkness to force it back." He looked to the huge black dragon. "Brutally murdered by the Light Dragons you were, using your dying wish to kill them all. But one remains, and cannot be killed."

The Soul of Shadow was silent, but its eyes widened. "The green one. I saw it all from his memories—the emerald dragon who controlled me. It must be destroyed!"

The huge dragon let out a roar, shattering the stone that made up the monument around them. Shruikan stood calmly, unwavering.

"We have a plan of how to get rid of her."

"We?"

"The young mechanical dragon and I."

"The metallic one," the Soul of Shadow said. "She was made by the hands of the one responsible for my death so long ago. I will not trust it!"

Shruikan flew slowly up to look the giant dragon in the eyes. "Made by your killer's hands, yes, but taught and raised by me."

"There is only one being I will trust, besides you," the giant dragon rumbled, its face determined. "Bring me to the emerald monkey."

"Otto?"

"Yes. The small green one has an unbreakable tie to the darkness we are, Shruikan. He has no choice but to look away from the light."

"Yes, Milord," Shruikan said. The black dragon closed his eyes and concentrated.

* * *

"Don't play stupid with me," Emarelda hissed. "Where…is…Silhouette?"

"We have no clue, Emarelda," Antauri said, glaring.

"We're just as confused as you," Otto said.

Suddenly, his hand began to glow, and he was yanked up to face Emarelda. The penetrating rainbow eyes of the dragon met his own terrified onyx ones. She turned him to look down on the green and blue planet below.

"Take a look at that, Otto. What do you see?"

"Um…the planet Earth?" he asked timidly.

"Yes. The Miracle World of Life. That planet should not even have living things on it, yet it does. A miracle world, and the humans are wrecking it."

"How?"

Emarelda touched a claw tip to Otto's forehead. He saw visions of Earth…he closed his eyes and broke free of Emarelda's hold.

"That can't be true," he said defiantly.

"It can. And it is," Emarelda said. "Despite what you guys may think of me, I never attack the innocent. Always those that should carry the penalties I give them. Never do I attack without a reason."

"But it's not their fault!" Otto retorted, but he knew he was losing the fight.

"It's not? Numerous times, the universe has given them another chance to right their wrongs, but they never do. It's time to right the universe of that wrong."

"No. It's time to rid the universe of the wrong you're doing, Emarelda."

Everyone looked up to see Shruikan hovering above them. He narrowed his red eyes at the green dragon.

"You never give them a chance, do you?"

"Humanity has had numerous second chances, Shruikan! Never do they take that chance to fix their world. Always they use it to destroy it even more. The more they do it, the weaker the element becomes."

"But it's not your place to pass judgment on the evils they cause," another voice said. "That's my job."

Silhouette flew down and landed in front of her, glaring defiantly.

"And I say, you're doing more evil than the human are. You used to be my best friend, Emarelda. What happened?"

Emarelda started to answer, but did not. She looked down.

"Then your judgment has been passed," the deep voice of the Soul of Shadow rumbled. "For taking my life, yours must too be stolen!"

"Wait!" Gibson stepped forward, as did everyone else. "I'm afraid I'm confused. What are you talking about?"

"You're very smart, Gibson," Shruikan remarked. "But lacking in magical knowledge. A magic history lesson will do your deprived brain some good."

"This was long before Shuggazoom even existed, and war raged across the universe, a war between Light and Shadow," Shruikan began. "The Keystones were being used for this violence, as well.

"The Shones were led by the first Shadow Lord, Tnaz, millions of years ago." At this, the Soul of Shadow nodded. "Yes, him. The Light beings and Warriors were led by the Emerald Shapeshifter—Emarelda."

"How long did the war last?" Sparx asked.

"A long time, Sparx," the Skeleton Prince said gloomily.

"Until, finally, the Shadow dragons used the Keystone to wipe out the Light dragons," Shruikan informed them.

"Long story short, they wiped out my people, so I eliminated their leader," Emarelda grumbled.

"We're not leaving them in the dark, Emarelda!" Shruikan said. "You were bent on destroying the Shadow Keystone."

Emarelda did not answer.

"That's when all the Keystones were kept on Aether, to keep harmony," Silhouette said, holding the two Keystones up. The Shadow Keystone vanished, and she held the Light one in her hands, tightly. The small stone formed into the shape of a dragon, and Silhouette held it above her head.

Emarelda glared. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me," Silhouette retorted.

Emarelda jumped to tackle the black monkey, but Silhouette dodged the attack. She held onto the dragon-shaped Keystone, and slammed it onto the ground.

As this happened, the same thing happened to Emarelda. Her wings pinned her body to the ground, and her legs wouldn't move.

Sparx ran up to his girlfriend. "W-What happened?"

"We've finally caught her," Tnaz, the huge black dragon, said. "Your people are not gone, Emarelda. Not in the real sense. They're locked away in mortal vessels. Fading away. Already lost for all we know. You are the last of the Light Spirits."

"Y-You sealed them all away?" Emarelda gasped. "Why? Where?"

"You don't need to know, Emarelda," Shruikan said. "By now, they all probably faded away, into oblivion…but we don't know. Now, all the shadow dragons and light dragons have died out. You and I are the last Great Dragons alive."

Silhouette had a small, black pin in her hand. "The Orrean Shadow." She sighed. Emarelda just watched.

Shruikan took the needle, closed his eyes, and then handed it back to Silhouette. She turned to Emarelda. "Like I said, Emarelda: we used to be such good friends. I doubt we'll ever get back to that." She looked to her feet. "Deep down, I hope you won't hate me for this," she whispered so no one would hear her. She was never a hater.

Emarelda looked on for a second, and smiled. "I don't hate you, Silhouette."

Silhouette stuck the small needle into the Light Keystone, and a bright light shone. Everyone shielded their eyes, until the light finally died down.

When everyone got their eyesight back, they noticed Emarelda was gone, and so was the Light Keystone.

"Where's she go?" Sparx asked, running up to Silhouette.

"Ask Shruikan," was her response. Emarelda's words still echoed in her mind.

All eyes, aside from the Skeleton Prince's and Mandarin's, turned to the black dragon.

"She will suffer the same sentence as her people, only worse," Shruikan said. "She will never fade away."

"How's that supposed to—" Gibson began.

"And her memory will not be hers."

Everyone's eyes widened. "I'll explain later," Silhouette said roughly.

"What about them?" Shruikan asked, motioning towards the Skeleton Prince and Mandarin.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going back to where I belong," Mandarin said, crossing his arms.

"And where is that?" Antauri questioned.

Mandarin chuckled. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Quint ran up to his sister and hugged her. "Sis, that was completely reckless of you!"

"Well, reckless seemed to get the job done right," Silhouette sighed, pushing out of his arms.

"So, what happened to Emarelda?" Sparx wanted to know.

"The curse, the Orrean Shadow, uses the only shadow on Orre," Shruikan said. "In a cave, far from where Emarelda lives. The light on Orre is special, but on Orre, shadows hold much more power. The curse binds Emarelda to what she hates most."

"Where is she?"

Silhouette pointed at the blue and green planet above them. "There."

"On Earth?"

Shruikan approached Silhouette. "What's wrong?"

Silhouette glared. "What's wrong? What's _wrong_? What do you think?" She turned away. "I just lost my best friend."

Shruikan and Sparx stared.

"You didn't hear what she said to me? She said she didn't hate me for what I was about to do. She realized what was going to happen to her."

Silhouette walked around, muttering to herself. "I don't hate her, either. Not after all she's done. I don't _hate_ anyone. Ever. No matter what they do." She looked Shruikan in the eye, and then gazed to Tnaz. "Until now," she finished angrily.

Shruikan had no clue what to say.

Tnaz spoke to Otto, who listened with awe. The others approached Otto, but were frozen by the giant black dragon looking at them.

"It's okay guys!" Otto assured them. "He's really cool! He's told me a bunch of stories that I can almost relate to."

"How? What did he tell you?" Gibson asked, eying the huge dragon warily.

Otto gazed to the huge dragon, then back at Gibson. "I can't tell you."

Gibson glared. "Why not?"

Tnaz reached over with one long finger, touched the tip of his claw to Gibson's forehead, and knocked him gently to the ground. "Secret," the huge dragon said, grinning.

"Otto never keeps secrets," Chiro pointed out, "Unless they're super mega important."

"And this is important," Otto said, as gravely as anyone heard him.

The huge dragon rose up wearily to his full height. "I am old. I have spent too long in the Light. I must return to Orre." He looked to the distraught black robot monkey. "And Silhouette?" She looked at him. "Do not grieve for the loss of your friend. You are surrounded by many more, and you do not need to seek Emarelda out. In time, she will find you again."

"What?" Sparx stuttered. "She's going to come back?"

The huge dragon was silent for a moment. Then, a smile crept over his face. "New and improved. You need not fear her anymore. She has learned restraint." He chuckled.

With that, he vanished.

Silhouette looked to her feet. "I'm sorry, Shruikan."

"It's alright, my friend," Shruikan said soothingly. "But, I do have a question…"

"Yes?"

"You said that you had just lost your best friend… But you told Emarelda she'd never be your friend again… Why?"

Silhouette looked around, unnerved. Then, she looked Shruikan in the eye.

"I just guess…that I'm quick to forgive. It's how I was taught." She looked to her brothers. "It's how I was raised. I've always liked everyone, no matter what evil they did to me." Her voiced lowered. "I'm not sure this is the case now."

"You weren't quick to forgive" Shruikan said. "You are quick to assume one has changed. You've given yourself a false hope that all will be alright. Not in this case. This spell—Emarelda will change. She will be a better person, and turn away from darkness and to the light she controls. But even I cannot control other sentient beings. Who knows what will happen after this? Will Emarelda lose her sanity and her form like her people? I do not know."

He looked her straight in the eye. "Do not let your feelings affect your actions. A graver mistake there never was. I know you, Silhouette. Your body loses control with extreme emotions. But you—_you_—are in control of those." He grinned. "Don't let them go."

* * *

**El fin. The end. Ta-ta.**

**This is probably the last I'll be on the Hyperforce stories.**


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